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This always seemed like the most likely outcome after Lodolo didn’t seem to be brimming with optimism after playing catch on Tuesday at American Family Field in Milwaukee. The 28-year-old southpaw won’t require a lengthy absence at the outset of the regular season but he’ll need at least a handful of minor league rehab outings to build up his pitch count and stamina. Top pitching prospect Rhett Lowder, who will start on Sunday against the Red Sox to open the season, seems like the clearest beneficiary from Lodolo’s departure from Cincinnati’s rotation mix since he’ll have a much clearer path to consistent innings, which gives him some fantasy appeal as a streaming option in shallow mixed leagues.

Passan adds that the long-term contract agreement, which ostensibly buys out Crow-Armstrong’s four remaining arbitration-eligible seasons and two additional free agent years, could be worth up to $133 million through performance-based escalators. The 23-year-old center fielder blossomed into a legitimate fantasy star last season, cobbling together a magnificent 31-homer, 35-steal breakthrough campaign. He’ll be at the epicenter of Chicago’s long-term roster build and projects as a perennial early-round selection in fantasy drafts as he approaches his physical prime.

The most important variable for fantasy managers is that Harrison made it through an 82-pitch relief outing without a recurrence of the blister issue that cut short his previous start. The 24-year-old former top pitching prospect has looked outstanding this spring for Milwaukee, posting a sparkling 20/4 K/BB ratio across 14 innings of work. He’s worthy of a speculative roster spot in all fantasy formats as he opens the regular season with a home matchup against the Rays on Monday evening.

It was extremely encouraging to see Burns completely dialed in after a mostly forgettable spring that left fanatsy managers with more questions than answers. He generated 13 swinging strikes and topped out at 99.8 mph on his four-seam fastball, limiting Milwaukee’s formidable lineup to just four hits, including a solo homer from Jake Bauers. More importantly, he didn’t hand out a free pass in this one and got hit pitch count up to 68 (53 strikes). The 23-year-old top pitching prospect will kick off the season with an extremely favorable home matchup against the division-rival Pirates on Monday night.

Is it too late for the Yankees to change their minds? Domínguez, who was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last week, took Cubs starter Edward Cabrera deep in the fourth inning for his fourth round-tripper of the spring as part of another multi-hit performance. The 23-year-old top prospect wraps spring training hitting .347 (17-for-48) over 17 games. It’ll likely take an injury or otherwise unexpected development for Domínguez to get another shot with the Yankees this season.

It was extremely encouraging to see Cole wrap up spring training by averaging a sizzling 96.3 mph on his fastball, especially since it was a 91-degree afternoon in the Arizona desert. A solo homer by Alex Bregman accounted for all of the damage against him. The 35-year-old veteran fantasy ace will continue building up his pitch count and stamina on a minor league rehab assignment before making his return from Tommy John surgery at some point in late April or early May. He appears to have been undervalued in early-spring drafts based on how his stuff has looked in game action recently.

Abel also struck out four and walked one while allowing an average exit velocity of 81.2 mph. It was an overall strong performance for Abel, who figures to start against the Royals next week in his first MLB start of the season. If you can wait until Sunday to add Abel, that’s great, but he is a priority waiver target for many right now, so you may need to add him now and hold him until that first start. He has a great foundation with strong fastballs and could be a plus starter for the Twins this season.

Suárez allowed two runs in the first inning and then a two-run home run in the second before settling down and throwing two straight scoreless frames. The fifth inning included three singles and a home run before Suárez was removed from the game. The veteran had only six whiffs on the day, and his velocity was down two mph on his four-seam fastball. We know Suárez is behind schedule due to his time in the World Baseball Classic, so it was good to see him throw 69 pitches here, but he’s also clearly not fully ramped up for the season. We wouldn’t read too much into a spring training start, especially for a pitcher who we know is behind schedule, but we also likely wouldn’t use Suárez against the Astros in his first start.

Slater finds a new home with the Marlins shortly after opting out of his contract with the Tigers over the weekend. The 33-year-old veteran’s arrival helps soften the blow of losing both Kyle Stowers (hamstring) and Esteury Ruiz (oblique) to injuries last week. He’ll operate in a lefty-mashing capacity off the bench for Miami, serving as a short-side platoon option to complement left-handed corner outfielders Owen Caissie and Griffin Conine.

Lodolo resumed throwing on Tuesday when he played catch in front of Reds manager Terry Francona and the team’s training staff; however, Wittenmyer noted that Lodolo “said he didn’t know what plan would be” and that he also “didn’t sound particularly enthused” about how the catch went. The 28-year-old southpaw had a blister issue crop up during his final spring training outing over the weekend, and might not be ready to take the ball at the back-end of Cincinnati’s rotation. It would likely be a brief stint on the injured list with the Reds making that determination before Thursday’s season opener against the Red Sox.